Embodiments of the present invention relates to laundry machines, particularly laundry washing machines and laundry washers/dryers. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relates to front-loading laundry machines.
A front-loading washing machine typically comprises a casing or cabinet provided with a loading opening for loading and unloading the laundry in/from a drum rotatably arranged within a washing tub having an opening in correspondence of the loading opening formed in the cabinet, and a door is hinged to the cabinet for closing the loading opening. A bellows is mounted to the rim of the loading opening and to the corresponding opening formed in the tub for providing a fluid-tight sealing for the loading opening once the door is closed, in order to avoid any water leakage from the washing machine during operation.
In operation, water is caused to partially fill the washing tub, and the drum is caused to rotate at variable speeds, depending on the phases of the washing cycle, which, in the spinning phase may reach 800-1,600 rpm. This high speed rotation along with the tumbling of the laundry within the rotating drum may cause foreign bodies, forgot in the laundry being washed (i.e., keys, coins, etc.) to be expelled from the laundry into the drum; from the drum, the foreign bodies may then pass into the washing tub through an interspace existing between the drum and the tub adjacent the loading opening. The foreign bodies that may happen to fall into the washing tub may then be dragged into the draining circuit of the washing machine where they may clog and/or damage the drain pump.
This problem is typically avoided by providing the draining circuit with an anti-clog filter placed upstream the drain pump. Such anti-clog filter has to be periodically removed and cleaned from any foreign body and from the fluff. For this purpose, an access port is usually provided in a lower portion of a front panel of the machine cabinet allowing access to and removal of the anti-clog filter from its housing for maintenance/cleaning by a user. Unfortunately, the access port is placed in an uncomfortable position, making the filter removal and/or cleaning an annoying task.
Moreover, an amount of waste washing/rinsing liquid remains upstream the drain pump and flow back into the filter, thus requiring the user to empty the filter from it. The emptying operation is typically allowed by means of an exhaust tube located in a lower frontal portion of the laundry machine. As the exhaust tube is opened, waste washing liquid pours therefrom onto the ground surrounding the machine and, due to the low and uncomfortable position of the exhaust tube, collecting such remaining waste washing liquid in a container is very difficult.
These problems quite often induce the user to neglect the proper care of the anti-clog filter, with the consequently risk of washing machine malfunction.
In addition, the anti-clog filter access port reduces the aesthetic quality of the machine, breaking its integrity, and the provision of the access port for extracting the filter has a considerable weight on the overall costs of the laundry machine. This is for example the case of the solution disclosed in EP1881101, relating to a domestic washing machine, of both the front-loading and top-loading type, comprising a filter compartment and an associated closing cap, and a small front panel on the inside of which the compartment is formed, wherein the cap is provided with a through-hole which can be closed by a respective small lid, the hole being arranged in a projecting position with respect to the cap and the small front panel and being arranged in a position substantially at the bottom of the cap, when the latter is closed. Moreover the cap is provided with a raised central grip and the hole is arranged on the central grip.
In the art, several solutions have been proposed for solving the above mentioned problems.
DE 19856973 discloses a washing machine drum structure that has an inner drum to take the washing within an outer drum. A seal with a folded section is at the opening of the outer drum to absorb vibrations. A protective wall prevents foreign bodies being flushed between the drums. A projection is at one side of the protective wall to prevent a foreign body being flushed out and from penetrating into the space between the drums.
Unfortunately, this solution has a major drawback: the laundry being washed may be trapped between the protective wall and the inner drum. When this occurs, the laundry may be damaged by frictional forces or may clog the washing machine.
DE 10360564 describes a washing machine with an inner drum rotated during the wash and spin cycles of the machine program and small items which may spill through an opening between the drum front and the door seal are prevented from being lost by a wall on the outer tank front plate and on the door seal.
According to this solution, if small items are able to trespass the wall there are no other means to prevent such small items from reaching the drain pump. Moreover, the configuration of this solution facilitates an accumulation of water in the door seal.
GB1309363 discloses a washing machine with a flexible bellows interconnecting apertures in an outer housing and an inner housing through which laundry is loaded into a rotatable drum with a horizontal axis. A pump for discharging liquid from the drum and a tubular member are provided, the latter containing a filter element through which liquid passes on its way from the housing to the pump and which may be withdrawn for cleaning through an aperture in the bellows when the door is opened. The tubular member has an intermediate connection with the inner housing and an elongated member with a handle is provided in the member for withdrawing the filter element.
In this solution, if the bellows, during the washing machine lifetime, loses at least part of its flexibility, the laundry could be able to enter into the tubular member when the machine is in operation, causing a malfunction thereof.
The aim of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a cost-effective improved laundry machine in which the probability of occurrence of laundry machine malfunctions is reduced, thus, at least partially, solving the prior-art drawbacks.
Another aim of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a laundry machine in which the maintenance of the anti-clog filter is simple.
Another aim of embodiments of the present invention is to provide a laundry machine in which the risk that foreign bodies, expelled from the laundry being washed, enter the washing machine tub is reduced.